Paying the Price
by Echoing Fantasy
Summary: Blood God AU. Kawahira refuses to let the Arcobaleno go free, even when presented with evidence that the system is no longer needed. Desperate to free those he loves, Tsuna turns to dark magics, and the gods that once lived thanks to the faith of the humans who summoned them. Light R27.


_Paying the Price_

Tsuna faced the three Apostles of the Blood God, and saw nothing but satisfaction in their eyes.

_**_**He is strong, **_**_one said, their lips not moving as the words echoed in the chamber around them, _**_**He will not fail them.**_**_

_**_**He is wise, **_**_another praised, nodding along, _**_**He will not fail them.**_**_

_**_**He understands,**_**_t he final intoned, sounding far too cheery for the mood, **__**And that is why he will triumph where the others have failed.**__**

Tsuna stood on the platform, heart pounding and palms sweaty with the knowledge of what he was about to do, and bowed his head. "I thank you for the praise."

**_**No praise, child. Just truth. Now, are you prepared?**_**

**_**Once you go forward, you cannot go back.**_**

**_**Choose your path wisely. **_**

He swallowed back the urge to whimper and shy away, standing firm and straight. Seven lives were counting on him for this. Seven more people would be sacrificed to appease a being that no longer lived - not that Kawahira knew that. He had become too blind with hatred towards the humans, and now viewed this ritual as a necessary act. Tsuna had tried to reason with him, to make him __see __that the being that had once required these lives to survive, a gentle god that had ushered his sacrifices to sleep with a kiss on the lips, was gone.

He had refused, and so Tsuna had gone digging in places far too dark for most people. Mammon had guided him to books of old gods, beings that humans had once prayed to for help, gods of justice and blood price. Once, Tsuna hadn't believed such beings were real. But he'd seen far too much, and compared to that, old gods were nothing.

He'd performed the ritual to take him to the place where the Apostles waited in the dead of night, sneaking out from under Reborn's nose the day before the fight between the Vindice and Reborn was to happen. Now here he stood, ready to give any part of himself away to save the seven that he'd come to think of as friends, or in Reborn's case, family.

"I'm ready. Please take me to your lord."

The three nodded, and as one, turned and guided him into the mist. Tsuna followed closely, keeping his mind open and ready for anything. At length, the trio guided him into what looked like a theater. Inside however, it was wide and made of stone, with pillars on each side that led up into blackness.

A feeling of power lingered in the air, circling around the three as they entered. Tsuna felt it swamping his lungs, digging into his bones, caressing every nook and cranny his body had to offer. Despite the intrusion however, he felt no fear; indeed he found himself relaxing into the grip.

Eventually, the three led him up to where an alter stood, ringed with old blood and strange markings. _**_**Wait here. Our lord will be with you shortly.**_**_

Then they vanished into the darkness.

Tsuna knelt where he stood, folding his legs underneath him and placing his hands in his lap. This was the position the people in the books had taken, the position of those who came to implore for mercy, or for a trade. Tsuna was now one of those people; it was only right for him to stand on the same ground as them.

He was unsure how long he waited there. He only know that he was deep in his meditative state when he heard the first __shhhk-clunk. __

__Shhhk-clunk.__

__Shhhk-clunk.__

__Shhhk-thud.__

__Clink.__

****CHILD.****

Tsuna didn't open his eyes. He knew there was something standing in front of him, something much taller than him. He also knew that opening his eyes would drive him mad. The loud, booming voice was directly in his head, and it already hurt.

****CHILD, WHY HAVE YOU COME?****

It took several sharp swallows, but Tsuna eventually found his voice. "I seek a trade, High Lord. Several of my comrades are to give up their lives. I wish to trade my blood to prevent theirs from flowing."

****WHO ARE YOUR COMRADES?****

"The Arcobaleno."

A deep, rattling sigh echoed throughout the room. Tsuna heard chains rattle.

****YOU SEEK TO FREE THE LAMBS.****

"Yes," Tsuna whispered.

****DID THE BUTCHER SEND YOU?****

The butcher. Kawahira. "No, lord. I attempted to reason with him, first. He wouldn't hear of it. That's why I've come to you."

****HIS GOD IS DEAD.****

"Yes."

****YET HE WOULD NOT LET THE LAMBS GO.****

"No. He said it was the only way."

****FOOLISHNESS. THERE ARE MANY OTHER WAYS, INCLUDING THE ONE YOU HAVE SOUGHT. I WILL HELP YOU FREE THEM, IN EXCHANGE FOR A BLOOD PRICE. WILL YOU AGREE TO THIS?****

"I will."

****THEN… ****"Open your eyes."

Tsuna did, and reeled back a little in shock at what he saw. Reborn, in his adult form and utterly naked, stood before him. A flush crept up his cheeks. "Is there any reason why you're wearing that skin in particular, lord?"

The being - and yes, now Tsuna knew without a doubt it was still the God of Blood, for Reborn's teeth had never been that sharp, and his eyes never that dark - grinned. "I take on the appearance of those you most desire, or love. Is this not pleasing to you? Your heart holds many shapes, but this one held prominent among them."

"It is," Tsuna agreed, not wanting to risk angering the god. Blood Gods were fickle. "I was just curious. I apologize for questioning you."

"Curiosity is never to be apologized for, only learned from. Now, stand on the alter, and relax."

Tsuna did, and squeaked when the god came up, looked him up and down, and then seized his shirt in a single hand and ripped it off caveman style. He took one of Tsuna's arms in his hand, examining it, and waved a finger around it in a circle. A black line traced around the base of where his arm met his shoulder.

"The cost of freeing seven is three. One arm, one leg, one eye. Do you agree to this price?"

Panic suddenly struck, and Tsuna found himself mentally flailing. To save the Arcobaleno meant giving up an arm, a leg and an eye. This was madness!

__But it is a madness that you sought out, and now you must pay up. __"I agree, lord."

The God nodded, satisfied. "Then I shall do opposites. Your right arm, your left leg. Which eye would you prefer I take?"

"R-right." __Better to make it somewhat even. __

"Very well." After tearing his pants off as well (Tsuna quietly squeaked again) and encircling his left leg with the same black mark, he gestured over to the wall. A hole in both the ground and the wall opened up. "Go forth and place your marked limbs in those holes, and I shall deal with your eye in a moment."

Tsuna did as he was asked, heart pounding in his chest the entire time. He was sweating, hands slipping on the brick as he lowered first his leg in the hole, and then his arm into the hole. Something that felt like clamps gripped down, holding him sternly in place. A cold hand drifted around his neck, and pulled his head back so he was staring into the eyes of the God.

"One. Two. Three."

At first there was nothing. Only a brush of cold against both his leg and his arm, and odd sensation of disconnection. Sheer agony blossomed suddenly, and Tsuna's eyes went wide, a scream wrenching itself from his throat.

In that moment, the God of Blood reached down, fingers digging into his right eye, and pulled it out. Gasping, flailing and screaming, Tsuna fell back, his left leg and right arm both ending in bloody stumps. The God swallowed his eye down, and licked his lips, chuckling.

****"The price has been met. Their curse shall end, and their lives will be saved. Give thanks, human, for you shall live another day yet."****

Tsuna didn't hear much after that; the loss of blood was causing an odd ringing in his ears, and he passed out, visions of dark gods and eyeballs with teeth following him down into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>He woke to the beeping of a hospital monitor, and the smell of aftershave and tobacco. For a long moment, Tsuna just laid there and let everything sink in. The Arcobaleno gaining their freedom. The sacrifices he'd made for that freedom. Kawahira's loss of the system.<p>

__I wonder just how well he took losing the system? How well he took the truth that his god was gone long ago?__

The sound of someone breathing in deep, and leaning forward in a chair next to him caught his attention. "Dame-Tsuna. I __know __you're awake," a deep, familiar voice said, "So open your eyes, hm?"

Tsuna managed to peel a single eye back, and when he did, he immediately shut it again. Reborn looked positively __livid. __Oh yes, he was smiling and his eyes were gleaming, but Tsuna would recognize the air around him if he were blind, deaf, and dumb. "I can explain," he croaked, coughing a moment later. The cough turned into a fit, and he whimpered, tears streaming down his face as pain flared in his missing limbs and eye.

A gentle hand dragged him up, rubbing his back in soothing circles while another one directed a cold glass of water to his lips. "Hush now. As much as I'd like to yell and scream and beat you within an inch of your life, you've got to heal. So I'll put it off for another time. Relax. Nobody's going to hurt you."

Tsuna swallowed the water hungrily, only stopping when Reborn forcefully took the glass away. "What about Kawahira?"

"Your 'blood god' took him away before he could curse us again."

"You kno—"

"Yes, I know," Reborn hissed, tightly. "Mammon filled me in. When I woke up and found my body returned and you in the hospital… you have no idea what that was like for me."

"Sorry," Tsuna mumbled. A wave of exhaustion swept over him, and he began to nod off again.

A sigh, and then one of Reborn's large, calloused hands swept his hair back, thumb caressing his face. "I know. We'll talk more when you wake up again. Go to sleep, Tsuna."

"Kay," he mumbled, eyes slipping shut. With Reborn standing guard, the nightmares he'd been having faded, the scent of aftershave and cigarettes a comfort he didn't dare confess in just yet.

Author's Notes

This is based off an AU that I started, but ultimately dropped due to it clashing with the canon story quite a bit more than I was prepared to deal with.

Prompt was from Mizuki99 on here/darkrayne99 on tumblr - "Power comes at a price. Some are willing to pay it, others are not."


End file.
